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Count Colin Kaepernick among those NFL players who have now publicly addressed the possibility of having an openly gay teammate.

Appearing on ESPN’s SportsCenter with Carolina quarterback Cam Newton on Sunday, Kaepernick said Michael Sam would be welcomed in the 49ers locker room. Sam, a defensive end at Missouri who recently revealed he is gay, is expected to be a mid- to late-round draft pick in May.

“I think when he steps into that locker room everyone’s going to know that he’s there to help us win games,” Kaepernick said. “That’s why you’re in the NFL — to help us win games. No one cares if you’re black, white, straight, gay, Christian, Jewish, whatever it may be. When you step on that field, you’re a member of, in my case, the 49ers. Or the Carolina Panthers. That’s your job. That’s your occupation.”

Said Newton: “Colin said it: We don’t worry about each other when we’re outside of football. Of course we have, ‘Are you OK? ‘Is there anything I can help you with?’ But the main focus is we’re football players. We’re here in this organization for one reason and one reason only. And if you’re helping us to attain that winning success, your personal life is your personal life.”

Kaepernick was also queried about the Dolphins’ bullying scandal involving offensive linemen Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin, who left the team in late October after he was continually harassed by Incognito. Did the scandal alter anything in the 49ers locker room?

“Nothing on our team changed,” Kaepernick said. “I think we have a very tight-knit group in our locker room. We joke around. We have a good time. We’ll mess with each other here and there. But it’s all in good fun. At the end of the day, we know that when we step on the field, they’re on our side and they’re helping us win games.”

Niners cornerback Eric Wright also recently characterized the 49ers locker room as harmonious. Writing on his blog, Wright, a pending free agent, said the 49ers were trusted to police themselves by Jim Harbaugh, whom he described as “well-respected” and a “player’s coach.”

“Everybody treats each other with respect, and everybody is treated like men,” Wright wrote. “It’s just an ideal situation for a player to be in, really.”

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Kaepernick and Newton co-hosted the Hall of Game awards show, which will air at 7 p.m. today on Cartoon Network. The awards show was held Saturday in Santa Monica.